After Paul from Minnesota stumbled across Blue Bunny's new White Chocoalte Caramel Cluster at his local Wal-Mart, I've been on the lookout. Earlier this week, I was able to track down a few flavors that had eluded me for months prior. Combining chocolate, caramel and peanut candies and milk chocolate flakes in white chocolate flavored ice cream with a caramel fudge ripple is how Blue Bunny describes their latest limited edition. Before we jump into this review, I'd just like to extend my gratitude to this particular company for their packaging. The design of the snap tight top lid is something that needs to be adopted by every other manufacturer. After unsnapping the lid, I transfer some of the bright white ice cream into a bowl for further examination.
The consistency of Blue Bunny's ice cream always seems to come up a little short in comparison to others containing similar calories. The slightly artificial feel seems to hinder the performance of some of the better flavor combinations. With only 150 calories per serving in White Chocolate Caramel Cluster, this one scoops out easily. The white chocolate base is a concept I haven't come across, but the fact that New Orleans Ice Cream Company's White Chocolate Bread Pudding nearly cracked the top tier of the rankings has me hoping for the best. The foundation of this particular flavor comes off as mild for the most part, only allowing slight hints of its white chocolate inspiration to come through. In an attempt to spice up the base ice cream, Blue Bunny has included a caramel fudge ripple that grows thick at points, but just can't compete with some of the caramel swirls found in other flavors. The next ingredient, the fudge flakes, are small and barely attribute anything other than a slight crunch from their texture.
The real highlight of White Chocolate Caramel Cluster comes in the form of the chocolate, caramel and peanut candies found strewn about inside. For the most part, all the candies are smashed too small for my preference, especially the chocolate and peanut variety. These only add a bit of texture, but come up short in the taste department. The best component of White Chocolate Caramel Cluster comes from the caramel candies. These are coated in chocolate and contain a hunk of caramel in the middle, reminiscent of the ones found in Ben & Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk. The thick, chewy caramel hiding inside takes multiple bites to break down and the caramel flavoring released along the way plays well with the chocolate and white chocolate. Unfortunately, this limited edition was surprisingly unexciting. Hopefully the others, Bourbon Street Sundae and Coconut Macaroon Crunch can make up for the disappointment found here.
Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: D
